On the independent set problem in random graphs

In this paper, we develop efficient exact and approximate algorithms for computing a maximum independent set in random graphs. In a random graph G, each pair of vertices are joined by an edge with a probability p, where p is a constant between 0 and 1. We show that a maximum independent set in a random graph that contains n vertices can be computed in expected computation time 2O(log22 n). In addition, we show that, with high probability, the parameterized independent set problem is fixed parameter tractable in random graphs and the maximum independent set in a random graph in n vertices can be approximated within a ratio of 2n/2√log2 n in expected polynomial time.